


An Apostate and His Cat

by immortalbears



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 15:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1434049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalbears/pseuds/immortalbears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders, told from Ser Pounce-A-Lot's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Apostate and His Cat

**The Apostate and His Cat**

 

“Hello there, little kitty. Are you hungry?”

 

It was dark and cold. And grey. I had just left my mother's side, having stayed long after my siblings had left. She did not say goodbye, and was, frankly, starting to smell a little. I wasn't big enough to catch rats yet – some of those things were really large, and frightened me. But I was not a scaredy cat, because I stayed in place and even approached the human.

 

This human had grey hair. I sensed that he was older than the others, possibly because of the winkles in his skin. Humans were large, hairless cats. They called him the Warden Commander.

 

It seemed that he had no intention of keeping me, even though he fed me and patted me a bit. I wanted more hugs. He did not give them to me. Instead, I stayed in his backpack. Not that I minded. I was tired a lot, and it was cold.

 

“Meow!” I pawed at the backpack.

 

The one that they called the Warden Commander seemed to have forgotten me. I couldn't help it, though. I was hungry. And the backpack stank. It wasn't exactly my fault – I was just a kitten.

 

“Tsk...” The Warden Commander took me out and made a disgruntled sound.

 

I gave him the most pitiful look and the most desperate meow that I could muster.

 

“Is that...” There was another human. I followed the Commander's gaze to the human, with his shining blond hair and a glimmer of metal by his ear.

 

I tilted my head curiously.

 

The Commander held me with both of his hands cupped beneath my pits. It was uncomfortable.

 

“Is that a kitten?”

 

“Doesn't it look like the one from the Circle?” The Commander said with a smile. “Old mouser, that one.”

 

“Took out three templars the last I'd heard. I've never been so proud,” The blond replied. “I... Didn't think you... Liked cats.”

 

“I picked it up for you.”

 

“For me?”

 

“He didn't smell quite as bad.” The Commander said, “I'll just put him back if you don't want him.”

 

“No! I mean, I'll take him. But we fight Darkspawn for a living...”

 

I was thus passed into another's hands. My hair would have stood on ends, but I was just a tiny, sleepy kitten. I pawed the back of the human's hand.

 

He looked at me and smiled. Eyes narrowed. Kind of like my mother. Except he wasn't my mother, he was a human.

 

I eventually couldn't take it any longer. I closed my eyes as he held me, to his belly. He was warm. Warmer than the pack, and touched me a lot more than the other human did.

 

-

 

His name was Anders. I think it was Anders, because that was what they called him. He could have called me “kitten” like the other humans did. Instead, he called me “Ser Pounce-a-lot”.

 

I liked the way it came to his lips. The way they pursed. The way his eyes twinkled whenever he saw me, like he was genuinely happy. And he kept patting my head and rubbing my belly. Sometimes, when we went to dark places, he would get tenser, and try to shield me with his body.

 

The Darkspawn – I couldn't tell them apart, but they were all dangerous. They left this dark taint wherever they went. I didn't like the taint. Everything got sick and died where the taint was the strongest. On hindsight, I think that was how my mother died. I was always the weakest, so I stayed long enough to watch her die.

 

“Meow!”

 

My human, Anders, fell.

 

“Anders!” The dark haired rogue exclaimed, and dashed towards him. One of the darkspawn, the ones that disappeared into the shadows, had reappeared behind my human and stabbed im from behind. I hissed and growled at the Darkspawn, trying to make myself seem as large as possible.

 

The rogue snuck up behind this Darkspawn, and fell him the way the Darkspawn fell my human.

 

“Meow!” I kept pawing at my human, hoping that he could wake up.

 

“Maker, what have you been eating, Ser Pounce-a-lot?”

 

“Meow!” I don't smell that bad, meow.

 

Remind me to pee in his bed later. If he's sleeping in one.

 

-

 

Sometimes he seemed really sad. But he was mostly scared. My presence seemed to help, although I was just a cat and not a human, and couldn't do much for him. Still, he always woke up when I thought I was going to lose him. That was a good thing, right?

 

My human.

 

I had grown up, and he was the one that had always stayed beside me. I watched him as he smiled and put on his best robes. Somehow it was as if he saw me as a child, but no, it was I who was seeing my child leave.

 

Or perhaps... What do you call somebody who was your everything?

 

“Meow!” I narrowed my eyes in a smile.

 

He smiled in return, and patted me on the head. I was too large to stay inside his robes now, and he had some fancy event to go to. For days he had been working on a paper, it seems... Ah, yes, I managed to leave my mark all over it with my paws. I am proud of myself for that, because everything of his is now mine.

 

“I'll be back.” He sighed deeply, seeming to remember something. “...If only the blasted templars would stay out of the Wardens... But I suppose I should be flattered.”

 

Sarcasm, I think. I don't know anything about the templars, but I think they're bad. Anders only ever spoke of them in hushed tones.

 

“Meow!” I replied. You will do fine. I am proud of you, human!

 

-

 

He came by once in Amaranthine.

 

“I'm going to Kirkwall.” My human said, to the other human. “...How's nate?”

 

“You look terrible,” The one they call Delilah said. I didn't like it here that much, there was always a crying, smaller human. I tried to take care of the smaller human as well, but honestly, I preferred it with Anders. It was just the two of us. Delilah did not take well to me sitting on the cat-sized human, or giving it some food, because if I didn't hunt for him, he would die from starvation.

 

Though, I suppose Delilah does feed both of us well enough...

 

Anders is better.

 

I rubbed myself all over Anders, and he buried his face in my fur before sneezing.

 

“Meow!”

 

Anders smiled at me, and I sensed that he wasn't here to take me back. He was here to say goodbye.

 

-

 

Dreams are real.

 

I do not mean in a “Dreams are real because they can come true!” way, as Delilah tells the tiny human. That is nice, but I am a cat, so there is little point in such things.

 

I meant the kind that you come across in the Fade. I have spoken to spirits of Compassion and spirits of love. The Spirit of Valor told me that he helped the Hero of Ferelden. I didn't really care, because I am a cat. Cats don't really care about borders. If you tried to draw a line and told us not to go over, we will just go past it.

 

I met Anders often, although I don't think he thinks of me as real. It is fine. I watch over him in the Fade and try to keep him company as much as I can.

 

He is now no longer alone, because he is … possessed. If you are in the Fade long enough, you can tell who is and who isn't. They eventually take on characteristics of the spirit that is possessing them. I recognize this spirit, as the one that had fought right beside us. The one who seemed to effect the most change on Anders during his stay with the Wardens.

 

...He is no longer alone, but he seems lonelier than ever.

 

He was an abomination in the dream, covered in the blood of humans I had recognized from the Wardens. He howled in anguish and gnashed his teeth, then proceeded to tear their flesh away from the bodies.

 

Anders' emotions were so strong that these bodies had materialised in the Fade.

 

I watched as he came to himself, looking down in horror at what he had done. I came closer. But I could not reach him.

 

-

 

He told me that he would be back, but I don't believe him. If he ever appears again, I will not speak to him anymore.

 

…

 

But I still visit him in his dreams, anyway.

 

**Author's Note:**

> =3=;)> inspired by A Girl and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai.  
> I'll probably make more gifs for this. One of them is here:  
> http://panders.co.vu/post/81869399547/grumpy-old-elf-ser-pounce-a-lot


End file.
